Related Posts:

Two more Super Rugby regulars will leave South African shores to take up French contracts on conclusion of the 2014 Super Rugby season, according to reports.

Cheetahs number 8 Philip van der Walt – only 24 and just the sort of player one would expect to come strongly into the national reckoning – has opted to continue his career with Biarritz in the South West of France. Van der Walt apparently turned down a move to the Sharks (who are themselves losing two stalwart loose forwards to Japan later this year) in order to take up the French offer.

Currently well under Heyneke Meyer’s radar, Cilliers clearly believes that playing in the same team as Wynand Olivier will help him move back into the national selection frame, since Meyer is clearly far more likely to watch them than he is the Stormers.

62 Comments

“Currently well under Heyneke Meyer’s radar, Cilliers clearly believes that playing in the same team as Wynand Olivier will help him move back into the national selection frame, since Meyer is clearly far more likely to watch them than he is the Stormers.”

hahaa

Comment 1, posted at 19.06.14 09:57:40 by Zibbie

Beautiful bit of sarcasm Rob…if we can’t laugh about it, we’d be a rather dull people.

Comment 2, posted at 19.06.14 10:07:57 by FireTheLooser

According to Beeld, for what that’s worth, Paul Willemse is negotiating with Grenoble

We could put out a very interesting SA Overseas Team That’s a lot of talent not being used.

Comment 19, posted at 19.06.14 10:56:39 by ChrisS

@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 15) : @PTAShark (Comment 16) : At least we know of a certain coach more than capable of rebuilding a demolished and depleted Springbok team….and not only rebuilding it against all odds with no support from anyone, but also going on to win the world cup.

Comment 20, posted at 19.06.14 10:57:34 by FireTheLooser

can someone please remind me when this sideshow will be over, so we can watch some real rugby again?

Comment 21, posted at 19.06.14 10:58:13 by West Indies Cricket Board

@FireTheLooser (Comment 20) : There is no way in hell they give him that job back, not unless JS takes over at SARU…

Comment 22, posted at 19.06.14 11:00:00 by West Indies Cricket Board

Hell had to quickly check the link, for a second I thought I stumbled onto Keo’s website.

Comment 23, posted at 19.06.14 11:03:24 by Morné

@Baylion (Comment 14) : Thanks. I’ll take a look at the site. I didn’t know about it.

Sad to see that there is just no reward for guys staying in SA anymore, and this will keep happening until there is.

Comment 27, posted at 19.06.14 11:20:12 by stevovo

@Rob; use your stalking skills or whatever you have up your sleeves and tell us whats going on at the Tank, hows the injured coming along or something. All this Springbok talk is just frustrating a lot of us.

Comment 28, posted at 19.06.14 11:23:49 by JarsonX

@JarsonX (Comment 28) : yes please anything please!!
If they are fishing what are they catching?
anything

Comment 29, posted at 19.06.14 11:27:33 by West Indies Cricket Board

@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 21) : now you talking,all this Bok drivel coached by Huge Mistake whose only interest is his own win ratio at all cost, backed by a weak self serving SARU,eish GOD help SA rugby

Comment 30, posted at 19.06.14 11:31:23 by benji

Whenever I have a bad day at work I console myself with the thought that at least I’m not coaching the Boks.

The other day my daughter and her friend was discussing some guy that is taking French at school so that it will be easier for him to play rugby in France eventually. I doubt that the particular player will one day be Bok material, but it did shock me that SA school kids are already planning for their careers in France.

Comment 33, posted at 19.06.14 12:02:28 by Bokhoring

What really pisses me off is there are rumors of some young Sharks in talks with French clubs.

Comment 34, posted at 19.06.14 12:08:57 by Talent

@Bokhoring (Comment 33) : Let’s get down to brass tacks, our current exchange rate and SA’s financial outlook is a far bigger contributor to the local talent drain than the selection policies of a Bok coach. As long as we’re paying a minimum of ten of our coins for only one of theirs, this is the reality we’re faced with.

Comment 35, posted at 19.06.14 12:12:29 by vanmartin

@vanmartin (Comment 35) : I am not blaming HM for the talent drain, but his selection policy as far as OSB is removing the only bargaining chip we have at this stage. Would a guy like Goosen have gone as readily over to France at this stage of his career, if he knew he would loose his Bok spot?

Comment 36, posted at 19.06.14 12:17:36 by Bokhoring

@JarsonX (Comment 28) : Saw an article on IOL regarding Lambie’s road to recovery…it says that due to the injury, he has had a lot more time to do fitness and gym training than he would have had otherwise.

So on the upside we should see Patrick Schwarzn-Lambie run out for the Sharks…no news on when exactly this will be though.

Comment 37, posted at 19.06.14 12:17:52 by FireTheLooser

@Baylion that list is far from complete. I read a while ago that there are over 600 South Africans contracted to play rugby overseas. Many of the players never got close to Currie Cup rugby but can make a decent living playing in a second division club in Europe earning more than most currie cup players,

Comment 38, posted at 19.06.14 12:22:40 by byron

@Bokhoring (Comment 36) : Apologies, never meant to imply that you did. I just thought your raised an interesting point regarding school kids learning French to play overseas and wanted to expand on factors influencing a decision like that as such a young age.

Your point is a fair one and God help me but I think Keo came up with a good solution. Allowing older players to play overseas helps to extend their careers in addition to making sure they have good financial security when returning to SA, so why not change the selection policy to only allow for overseas-based selection once a player has earned a certain amount of caps in SA.

I don’t think players leaving for foreign clubs will ever go away. It’s a new reality we’re faced with now. Question is how do we best manage it in the interests of both country and player?

Comment 39, posted at 19.06.14 12:27:59 by vanmartin

@vanmartin (Comment 39) : The best and only solution is to leave our arm gat cousins from down under and join the rich timezone-friendly North.

Comment 40, posted at 19.06.14 12:32:44 by West Indies Cricket Board

@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 40) : I’ve always been interested by that idea. I’d miss some of the games against sides like the Crusaders and Chiefs but it might be better than the dull affair that SR has turned into. Wonder if SARU is considering the idea at all?

Comment 41, posted at 19.06.14 12:38:02 by vanmartin

@vanmartin (Comment 41) : I would also miss those games, but we must go where the money is. Besides we will quickly build new rivalries. Imagine Stade vs Sharks in front of 80 000! Now we talking

Comment 42, posted at 19.06.14 13:00:05 by West Indies Cricket Board

@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 42) : If Rob can organise some prizes that involves free tickets, flight and accommodation for the Stade game, I am so in

Seriously though, there might be a lot of merit to games of this nature. I reckon a Stade game in SA would draw a lot of foreign fans here. The exchange rate would suit those fans very well.

Comment 43, posted at 19.06.14 13:09:03 by vanmartin

Van der Walt is going to be a huge loss for the Cheetahs. It’s a real pity the Sharks could not get him to move to Durbs, maybe he was thinking of playing for France as it seems the Bok coach is not interested in him?!?!

Comment 44, posted at 19.06.14 16:26:50 by JD

@JD (Comment 44) : I expect any day to hear the news that Lappies Labuschagne is also moving to France.

Comment 45, posted at 19.06.14 16:37:05 by ChrisS

@Baylion (Comment 10) : geez that a lot, some nice players in there, others I don’t even know and some I wish I did not know.

Comment 46, posted at 19.06.14 16:42:14 by JD

@ChrisS (Comment 45) : ja think some players that feels they will not be in the Bok group for World cup might decide to move overseas before the end of the year.

Comment 47, posted at 19.06.14 16:44:42 by JD

@West Indies Cricket Board (Comment 42) : @vanmartin (Comment 41) : due you think the quality of the Northern Hemisphere would match that of the Southern Hemisphere,I don’t believe so?

Comment 48, posted at 19.06.14 16:45:27 by benji

@benji (Comment 48) : quality up north is much better these days with all the world players going to play there.

Quite correct, guys that did not even play Vodacom Cup earns a comfortable salary in Europe with a house and car sponsored. Some of them will never have even made a Currie Cup side.

We discussed this before about a week ago – players move for two reasons – money (the top Boks can earn 3 times overseas than what they do in SA and that includes the franchise and Bok contracts combined), and an easier workload.

The one post here was quite correct, the figure is closer to 600 than it is to 300 players that play overseas – of that, about 10% are guys that played in our two elite competitions (CC and Super Rugby).

Numbers are deceiving a bit though.

Our estimated player numbers (senior, this means club and up) are around 80 000 to 100 000 (we are about 250 000 in total, don’t believe the IRB numbers) – 0.75% of this (around 600) plays abroad and even less (around 0.125% – I worked on a 100 which I think is way too high) are the pro’s that has a semi-good, or good chance (or have already been capped) to make the Boks.

SA still has a good supply chain through schools, clubs and comps like the Varsity Cup. We are much better off than our ANZAC cousins I can tell you that much.

But in no way is this ideal whichever way you look at it. Firstly we need to make sure our breeding structures remain in tact and luckily events like the Craven Week has huge importance in our country still – but school numbers are dropping dramatically.

Southern Hemisphere rugby is in trouble because we will always be behind the Pound and Euro. My personal opinion, the only thing that will ensure a strong SH participation in world rugby is a global season. And we need to get this within the next 10 years or we will breach the point of no return.

Comment 54, posted at 19.06.14 17:49:52 by Morné

Two things to ponder:

- the toll SuperRugby places on a players body is immense, especially the sort of game we play in SA. There is very little rotation policy in SA SR sides. There is also very little rotation at Bok level. In Europe the squads are large, so rotation is the name of the game. They need large squads to act as cover during international windows. Also, European-based players not playing international rugby, have a good 3 months off during the year.
- the standard of rugby in Europe is improving every season and they pay a shedload of money.

Why would any rational rugby player opt to stay in SA if he could earn a few years pay for every 12 months spent playing in France?
And said rugby player gets to use his job to see some of the world and have a different experience?

This will only get worse.

Comment 55, posted at 19.06.14 17:54:42 by VinChainSaw

@Morné (Comment 54) : Do you think SA would in the long run, be better off taking part in a NH competition instead of SR were such an option available to us?

It would definitely help SA rugby (monetary), but I reckon it would kill Southern Hemisphere rugby.

It goes to a whole other discussion where I reckon the Sevens game will in 10 to 15 years replace the XV code as the most popular version of the game…

Comment 57, posted at 19.06.14 21:50:51 by Morné

@Morné (Comment 54) : don’t forget NZ not only use their own schoolboy players they also pilfer the Islands around them for talented youngsters. With regards to the global rugby season I sort of agree with you but to be honest I don’t see it happening.

Comment 58, posted at 19.06.14 22:05:28 by JD

@VinChainSaw (Comment 55) : very true, why would you not go for more money?!?!

Comment 59, posted at 19.06.14 22:10:55 by JD

@vanmartin (Comment 56) : @Morné (Comment 57) : I also agree SA would benefit more especially with this stupid new Super rug y format that our friends in OZ and NZ approved. If SA leaves than OZ and NZ can continue with their inter Island derbies.

@benji (Comment 61) : and so have England. SA will get more hating teams in the Heineken cup than to have them playing in the new kak Super rugby format. SA can also tour to OZ and NZ like the Northern teams currently do and like they did before the Tri-nations started.